Editorial Content for Two Kinds of Stranger

Steve Cavanagh has earned a reputation for producing crime and legal thrillers that are not afraid to show their dark side and always feature a battle between good and evil. TWO KINDS OF STRANGER is the latest in his Eddie Flynn series and finds the defense attorney up against the system and fighting to save his client from a truly depraved killer.

The first person we meet is the extremely likable Elly Parker, who hosts a popular TikTok series featuring random acts of kindness. Unfortunately, in the video that is described to us at the beginning of the story, Elly arrives home to find her husband, James, in bed with her best friend, Harriet --- all while live streaming her show.

"TWO KINDS OF STRANGER is a very surprising and satisfying thriller, and Logan is one of the most diabolical villains I have come across in a long time."

As Elly is trying to get past this very public shaming, she finds herself at Grand Central Terminal, where she will have an opportunity to live out her mantra of performing random acts of kindness. She comes across a man with his leg in a full cast struggling with a yellow suitcase. She cannot sit by idly and attempts to help him. In doing so, she grabs his bag and inadvertently breaks the handle off of it.

Feeling terrible, Elly volunteers to see him and his suitcase all the way to his apartment, which is not far away. He goes to his room to change and offers her a bottle of water from the fridge. While sipping it, she comes across something alarming: two identical suitcases, each with broken handles in garbage bags.

Elly quickly leaves the apartment but begins to feel strange. After vomiting on the sidewalk, she realizes that the water was laced with something just before her world goes black. She wakes up in the hospital and returns home after four days of recovery. At this point, NYPD detectives knock on her door and charge her with killing James and Harriet.

The case that is now being labeled “the TikTok Murders” can only be tried by one man: Eddie Flynn. He and his partner, Kate Brooks, meet with Elly and assure her that they will do all they can to get justice for her. Unfortunately, the district attorney wants to make an example of her and sets bail at one million dollars, with another million to be paid in cash. Elly is remanded to the women’s prison at Rikers Island, one of the most hellacious places on the planet. If Eddie and his team cannot raise the bail fast enough, she surely will be killed behind bars without ever having her day in court.

Meanwhile, we are introduced to Logan. Not only is he the same man with the yellow suitcase who set Elly up, he is a dangerous sociopath of the highest order who gladly will sink to any level of depravity to meet his own sick agenda. Why he singled out Elly will remain a secret here. And once he learns more about Eddie, he puts him at the top of his hit list.

With Elly fighting for her life in prison and Logan continuing a swath of murders while remaining one step ahead of Eddie and his colleagues, it feels like this is one case that the resourceful lawyer may not be able to overcome.

TWO KINDS OF STRANGER is a very surprising and satisfying thriller, and Logan is one of the most diabolical villains I have come across in a long time. This is yet another triumph for Steve Cavanagh and his likable protagonist.